Jonas Restaurant & Bar

Cabbage rolls!!! I love the giant cabbage rolls here and it makes for a good place for take out. It’s got a very homey feeling and I definitely come back here over and over again. would recommend!

As a Hungarian, this restaurant can’t get any more authentic. It is a warm, classy environment with native Music playing and food that is absolutely amazing. For the portions, the prices are fair as well! And there are always leftovers for lunch the next day! The service is always prompt and the owners take great pride and care in their work to ensure a pleasant experience!

To my tastes it doesn’t get much better than this. The restaurant is cozy. It really feels more like eating at your Hungarian grandmother’s house than a restaurant. I’ll quickly note that I don’t have any Hungarian grandparents but I’m assuming that this is a pretty good approximation. The owners are always present, one being the only chef in the kitchen and the other being the only server. They are incredibly sweet people and have really put their hearts into the restaurant. Needless to say, inconsistency is not something that you will experience here.
As for the food, it’s really remarkable. Over the years I’ve cycled between favorite dishes (Beef feta stew, schnitzel, Paprikash to name just a few). They have a set daily special for each day of the week and all of them are fantastic. I’m particularly partial to the Wednesday roast duck and the Friday potato pancake. They’re just ridiculously good. I can’t think of any good reason not to end your meal with a sweet crêpe. The walnut and chocolate is my favorite.
Prices are extremely reasonable and under no circumstances will you ever leave hungry. I really couldn’t ask for much more from a restaurant.

Great little place with a very warm atmosphere. I got take out which was a great option, but it seemed the service had I dined there would have been great.
The food was excellent — I had the goulash and the chicken paprikash — both were so delicious. Portions were very generous but I literally could not stop eating it. Great homecooked flavor.

Food is absolutely outstanding, with service to match. Home cooking in a warm atmosphere, will deffinitely be back again and again!

Jonas’ is one of those rare places where the food is as fantastic as the service. The couple who own this place are SO NICE and you can tell they absolutely love what they do. Even when I call to place an order for takeout, she’s very friendly and helpful. The food is out of this world, too. I always have the chicken paprikash but I’ve tried the schnitzel off my friend’s plate and it was to die for. Highly recommended, I hope they stay open for many years to come.

I’ve lived in Calgary for almost 16 years, every day of that time in the inner city, and am ashamed to say that until two days ago I had never dined at Jonas. I’d got takeout before and extolled the chicken paprikash with spaetzle but had never eaten in. In anticipation of the Kraftwerk concert some central European food seemed appropriate so off we went. I got the «Wiener Schnitzel» (it’s actually pork, not veal, so strictly speaking it’s «Schnitzel, Wiener Art» but I prefer pork schnitzel anyway so no biggie) and partner got that amazing paprikash again. Both dishes were stunning! BIG portions for the «full size» orders we both got, nicely plated with some neat attention to detail there. My schnitzel was three cutlets, as good as many I’ve had in Germany and more tender than some, and the accompanying potatoes were completely delectable. We split a chocolate and walnut crêpe for desert and the total damage wasn’t even $ 50. Service was really friendly, endearing even. The space itself is… homely I suppose but it all works, reminded me of mom and pop German restaurants in Wisconsin more than what you’d experience in Europe per se but for Calgary it’s unique and pretty amazing as it’s Calgary’s only Hungarian resto– thank goodness it’s good!

Just visited this wonderful little restaurant. My husband had the goulash soup and chicken paprika while I enjoyed the cabbage rolls. All tasted wonderful. Good authentic flavours. The restaurant is cozy with plenty of Hungarian décor. It feels a little like being invited into someone’s home for a great home made meal. We enjoyed the food and atmosphere and will certainly return.

For $ 20 I would expect freshly prepared potato pancakes and fresh vegetables. The veg I got tasteless coming from a frozen bag you buy in superstore. The pancake was precooked and tasted nothing like the one I had several times in Hungary.

Amazing food! Amazing service! Best European food you can get in Calgary!

This place is ridiculously good. If this is what Eastern Europe is really like, I’m in. The bread that comes a the beginning of the meal came with fresh jalapenos. Already sold, but then ordered the Chicken Paprikash, and it was probably the best thing I’ve eaten in Calgary. Finished off with apricot crepes and was not disappointed. The owners are friendly and great to talk with. If you’re in Calgary, this is the one place you have to try.

Why haven’t I written a review for this place before!!!
The food is greasy yummy eastern European goodness! It feels homey with the traditional Hungarian décor and classical music.
It’s home cooking 101. Reminds me of my grandma’s place where I used to stuff myself so I couldn’t move anymore.

the chicken paprikash was excellent for a chicken dish. Egg noodles are also called dumplings at this place, and i think in most backwards part of hungary. Normally dumplings are always big filled with things. even Perogie dumplings from ukrain are dumplings. Spietze is more precise and its called egg noodles — not dumplings. Even edelwiess village at the german deli calli t egg noodles. But I had to have an arguments. I would say that Shnitzel really is not Hungarian — but german.
I guess if you enjoy bland home cooked regular food then you will enjoy this. I could never understand — having disliked cabbage rolls and rouladin and vereniken etc from a small child having them all the time. I would go to friends houses who had chicken wings everyday and hotdogs and think how lucky they were. They would come to my house and have meatloaf and say it was the best thing theyve ever eaten in their lives. I guess its all in the perspective

Unbelievable!!!
A friend suggested this place to meet for lunch downtown today and I was more than pleasantly surprised! The food was amazing and the portions were big enough that I get to have to same lunch again tomorrow :)
I had the mushroom paprikash and the Hungarian cabbage salad. The paprikash was tasty, hearty and oh so comforting. The salad was absolutely perfect for me as I don’t like creamy coleslaws as much as vinegar based.
I will absolutely be here again. And again.

Well, most people I take here are always surprised that such a quint little place exists downtown. The food here is very filling and although the menu is small, the authenticity is very nice. Great place to take your date too IMO.

Delicious Hungarian food! I had the chicken paprika and it was great… The cheese crêpe for desert was very good as well. I went there for lunch and everything was excellent!,. I definitely will go back there!

I had the goulash, a chocolate crêpe, espresso and wine. It was all delicious, and had the home made taste and feel. A unique cozy feel in this restaurant. Felt like I was at my grandmothers house. Worth the visit. Prices are even good :)

It really doesn’t get better in terms of authentic Hungarian home-​cooked goodness. This is a stick-​to-​your-​ribs kind of place with excellent, friendly service and a really cozy atmosphere.
My advice – go on a Friday and get the special for the day which is a beef goulash wrapped in potato pancake with paprika sauce. Your friends should get the schnitzel and the chicken paprikash for the whole experience. The portions are enormous. Highly recommended.

I used to live in the building above Jonas and never realized I had such a gem of a restaurant beneath me the entire time.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every meal from there, and you can’t beat a family owned place. They are so friendly and accommodating.
Favourite dishes are:
Chicken Paprikash — this is a difficult dish to make at home, I’ve tried it and it never quite tastes as good as it is at Jonas’
Chicken Schnitzel — this is authentic schnitzel, its large, flattened and thinly breaded. The potatoes it comes with are to die for.

What a neat little place!
A friend and I came here for a Friday lunch, not knowing what to expect. I’ve never had Hungarian food before (except some pastries and goulash made by a distant in law when I was a kid). It is not often you get to try something totally new and take a leap of faith.
The service was fantastic, fast and friendly. But the food was the real winner. My friend and I split two small entrees-​the weiner schnitzel and the chicken stew dish. Both were delicious, fresh and hot. It was the perfect amount for both of us. It was so nice to have real, homemade food that tasted like someone’s grandma made it.
I have to admit I was a little unsure at first but I will definitely be back. The décor is interesting and really gives you a sense of the owners’ pride in their culture. Nice to see such a unique spot doing so well downtown.
I would recommend making a reservation during peak times, especially if there is more than 3 people in your group.